Pages

Thursday, 30 May 2013

“Sustainability is at the root of all we do,” says Gord Joorisity, Executive Director of Project Management for Innovation Place. “It’s the way we do business.”

Innovation Place is a Saskatchewan Crown corporation with technology parks on the university campuses in Saskatoon and Regina as well as a forest sector building in Prince Albert. Their mission is to support the growth and success of the province’s technology sector.

Innovation Place operates 26 buildings with 185 tenants in three different cities. That’s a huge responsibility but also a tremendous opportunity to lead the way in building and maintaining environmentally-friendly buildings.

Sustainability is not a special initiative at Innovation Place; it’s standard operating practice. “We own and operate the buildings and will be managing the space for a considerable length of time,” Gord explains, “so we need to consider minimizing operating cost, not simply the initial capital costs.”
Let’s take a look at how they do it.

Planning & Design
Minimizing waste and maximizing efficiencies begins at the planning and design stage. Innovation Place has adopted an integrated design approach, which looks at the whole building as a single system.

“We spend more time on building a tight building to keep the heat/cool in the building,” Gord explains. “We spend a little more on design, but overall energy consumption and operating costs are less.”

Carpet and ceiling tiles are installed throughout the shell of the new building before the internal walls go up. This minimizes cutting and waste as the tiles do not need to be cut to fit each individual space. This also results in savings on labour costs.

The focus is on the overall lifecycle of the building. Carpet tiles are more expensive than broadloom, but money is saved in the long run because individual tiles can be replaced rather than having to replace the entire carpet.

Renovations
Minimizing waste begins in the planning process as they try to design leasehold spaces that will be compatible with more than one tenant’s needs (e.g. office size).

During demolition, they try and salvage as much material as possible so that doors, ceilings, light fixtures, and other items can be reused. If there is surplus material, it is donated to Habitat for Humanity or a charitable organization.

Energy
New buildings are designed to LEED standards to minimize the overall energy requirements. Heat pumps are effective in the shoulder seasons, while heat recovery systems recover most of the heat that is being exhausted out of the building in order to pre-warm air coming into the building.

Thermal scans have been done on some of the older buildings to see where there is gross energy leakage. Operating schedules are closely monitored in order to lower set temperatures in the evenings or on weekends.

In keeping with its mandate, Innovation Place tries to provide opportunities to use new technologies in the parks in order to help industry to build capacity.

A small vertical wind turbine has been installed on a building in the Regina park in partnership with the University of Regina who will use it for research purposes.

Innovation Place has just installed a solar array on the Atrium building in Saskatoon with net metering arrangements with the City of Saskatoon.

Lighting
Lighting fixtures in many of the buildings were upgraded 6-10 years ago, and this has saved a great amount of energy. They are looking into LED lighting and have introduced it in certain areas, but it is still expensive. “The energy savings are spectacular,” Gord says. “It won’t be long till it’s affordable for general lighting use.”

Programmable, dimmable lighting systems have been installed in the two newest buildings in Saskatoon and Regina. The artificial lighting dims automatically when the natural light is high. Later in the day, when there is less natural light, it increases to a higher level. The lighting system has shown good success, particularly in one building, so Innovation Place will be looking at other places where it can be used.

Dark sky lighting has been installed in most of the Regina park and has been installed as a test project along Innovation Boulevard in Saskatoon. Outdated fixtures will gradually be replaced with LED lights that have been designed to direct the light down where it’s needed rather than wasting energy by shooting it in all directions. Dark sky lighting is believed to benefit some wildlife that are adversely affected by light pollution.

The parks are looking at turning outdoor lighting down when there are no people on the site, but they are having difficulty figuring out how to make it work while still maintaining safety.

Water
Water reduction strategies were an important part of the planning process for the LEED-certified buildings. Older buildings, such as the Galleria building, have also been switched to low-flow toilets and touch-free fixtures, which reduce the length of time the water flows.

Outdoors, the focus is on drought-tolerant plants along with rainwater and moisture sensors to control when the water comes on.

People
Gord says that the next big challenge is helping tenants understand the impact they have on energy reduction. This process has begun with the introduction of recycling and carpooling programs.

“Now, we want to work with tenants so they’re aware of how much energy they’re using,” Gord says. “Office electrical equipment is the biggest energy user.” Innovation Place is exploring ways of measuring energy in different spaces and sharing that information with tenants. “I believe that if you measure things they get done,” Gord says. “If people aren’t aware of how much energy they use, they won’t be able to change their habits.”

Awards
The results of Innovation Place’s sustainability efforts are demonstrated by the awards they have received from industry. Almost all the client-occupied buildings have been certified by BOMA, the Canadian industry standard for green certification (established by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada Building Environmental Standards). In 2012, two Innovation Place buildings were officially awarded Level 4 certification, a level that only 2% of all buildings in Canada have achieved and the only two buildings in Saskatchewan to receive this top designation.

Innovation Place has two out of only three LEED Gold certified buildings in Saskatchewan, awarded by the Canada Green Building Council. The Forest Centre building in Prince Albert was the first building in Saskatchewan to receive this designation in 2006.121 Research Drive in Saskatoon was awarded LEED Gold in 2012.

The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) awarded Innovation Place Silver in the 2008 IPAC Award for Innovative Management. The theme for the award was Managing the Green Workplace/ Innovations in Greening.

Innovation Place was recognized for its integrated management approach that minimizes the environmental impact during building construction and reduces resource use during operation. They were also lauded for doing this while maintaining high satisfaction levels from tenants, contractors and employees.

Innovation Place was named one of Canada's top 30 greenest employers by AON Hewitt, a ranking that is based on how employees perceive their employers’ environmental efforts. Innovation Place ranked 11 out of 280 eligible companies in Canada. As Gord says, sustainability is not a special initiative at Innovation Place – it’s part of the culture.

More information about Innovation Place’s sustainability measures is available on their website.

Campus Composting
Three universities in Ontario are taking different approaches to collecting organic waste on campus. One will be run by students; one is handled by a private company; and the third is completely in-house.

Business Goes GreenTreeHouse, a green hardware store in Austin, Texas, is earning a reputation as the “Whole Foods version of Home Depot.”

Amsterdam
Can you imagine a city ruled by cyclists not car owners? No? Then be sure to read In the City of Bikes: An American Discovers Amsterdam by Pete Jordan. Jordan takes us through the decades recounting everything from dinking and bike fishermen to the German Occupation.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

NatureCity Festival, May 25-31
The NatureCity Festival, May 25-31, is jam-packed full of activities. There is Animal Yoga, Wild Bees and Bee-Keeping, a Burrowing Owl Meet and Greet, a Flash Planting Mob (Saskatoon bushes), Wolves – Making the Connection, and art exhibits. Check out the full range of activities on Wild About Saskatoon’s website.

Forestry Farm Centennial Fair, May 26
Head on out to the Forestry Farm Park and Zoo from noon to 5 pm on May 26 to celebrate the Farm’s 100th Anniversary. The Centennial Fair will include concessions, wagon rides, old-fashioned games and contests, an artisan marketplace, and demonstrations.

International Trails Day, June 1
There will be plenty of action along the Meewasin trails on June 1 in celebration of International Trails Day. There will be music, vendors, and a formal program in Friendship Park. Additional free activities include fitness classes, geocaching, interpretive walks. and more.

New Provincial Park
Saskatchewan has a new provincial park! Great Blue Heron Provincial Park will cover 11,168 hectares north of Prince Albert and will encompass the recreation sites at Anglin and Emma Lakes.

Ban Bee-Killing PesticidesSierra Club Canada is calling on the federal government to ban bee-killing pesticides.

Don’t Toss It Away. Fix It!
Do you hate it when an electrical appliance breaks, and it’s cheaper to buy a new one than to fix it? Then you need a Repair Café where volunteer repair specialists will help you fix it. The first Repair Café was in Amsterdam, but they are spreading around the world with one opening soon in Toronto.

Sustainable Business
In The Guardian, Dr. Joseph Zammit-Lucia says, “Sustainability is not about nature, science or ideology but about people, and the choices societies make....If we are only creating value at the expense of the environment, then we are creating no value at all….Sustainable business cannot be the result of some kind of guilt trip that results in management throwing a little bit of money to make them feel better and to look good in the annual report. Rather we need to set about the much tougher task of creating a vision of the sort of future that we are offering people. A future that can credibly promise what people care about – jobs, security, social cohesion, improving living standards – in an ecosphere that remains viable.”

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Birdwatching
Join the Saskatoon Nature Society on their frequent birdwatching field trips. Additional information is available on their website.May 20 – Shorebirds southeast of SaskatoonMay 22 – Warbler migration at Cosmopolitan ParkMay 25 – May Day Bird Count

Nocturnal Owl Survey
Saskatchewan is home to 11 different species of owls at different times of the year. Seven of them can be heard on the Saskatchewan Nocturnal Owl Survey. If you’d like to participate, contact Alan R. Smith at Environment Canada.

Chaplin Lake Tours
The Chaplin Nature Centre offers two-hour tours by bus of Chaplin Lake on a regular basis between May 18 and August 31. See a variety of shorebirds and learn about the sodium sulphate mine and brine shrimp industry. They offer additional longer tours of the surrounding area.

Books and FilmsCommunity Pastures:Red Hat Studios would like to make a film about Saskatchewan’s community pastures. Contribute now to help them achieve their goal.

Kids' Books:Elin Kelsey has written a number of award-winning books for kids to help them understand that they are part of the natural world. You Are Stardust and Not your Typical Book about the Environment are two of them. Jane Goodall says, “Elin Kelsey has produced a highly engaging book, pointing out surprising connections between kids’ lives and the rest of the planet. The illustrations are fantastic and make a complex subject—conservation and sustainable living—easy to understand. A wonderful book for educating children—and adults—about the environment.”

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Winter is finally over. Here’s a muskrat photograph to join you in greeting the warmer weather. Just follow the instructions outlined below to download the photograph to your computer as background or desktop wallpaper.

Windows Instructions

Click on one of the links below (NOT the small image above)

Right click on the displayed image

Choose "Set as Wallpaper" or "Set as Background"

Mac Instructions

Right click on one of the links below ( NOT the small image above)

Choose "Download Linked File" or "Save Link As"

Right click on the download and choose "Show in Finder"

Right click on the file in the Finder and choose "Set Desktop Picture"

Did you know?
Muskrats’ thick, waterproof fur makes gives them added buoyancy. They can remain submerged for up to 15 minutes, and their teeth are modified so that they can chew underwater. Cattails are their preferred food item.

Muskrats mate following spring break-up, and litters of 5-10 young are born one month later. The same female normally has another litter a month after the first, and sometimes yet another one month later.

The young develop rapidly and are capable swimmers and divers by the time they are three weeks old. By four weeks, they are independent of their parents.

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Capturing Nature in the City, May 21Branimir Gjetvaj, biologist and environmental photographer, will present his vision of a “Wild Saskatoon” through photos and stories at 7 pm on May 21 at the Frances Morrison Library. He’ll discuss the importance of reconnecting city dwellers to their natural environment and the complex interactions between humans and other species that co-exist in the urban environment.

CISV Back to Basics Mini Camp, May 24-26
CISV Saskatoon is hosting a Back to Basics Mini Camp for ages 8+ at Shekinah Retreat Centre from May 24-26. The focus will be on Thinking, Choosing, and Doing in order to live the green life.

Making Compost
The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council is hosting two workshops on making compost. A Learn the Basics of Composting workshop will be held from 7:30-9 pm on May 29 in the Downstairs in the Den, The Two Twenty.

More experienced composters can register for the Master Composter Weekend Training Class on June 1 and 2. For more information, contact Naomi at naomi@saskwatereduction.ca, 306.242.8569.

Backyard Garden Sharing Program
Jared Regier, who also works with the Earthkeepers program at Aden Bowman Collegiate, has been hired by CHEP as their Backyard Garden Coordinator. If you have backyard space someone could garden in or if you are an experienced gardener looking for space to grow food, contact Jared (jared@chep.org, 655.4575, ext 229).

EU Imposes Temporary Ban of Bee-Killing Pesticides
The European Union has imposed a temporary ban on three pesticides believed to harm bees. It's only a partial victory; there's more work to be done.

High-Tech Garbage Cans
This solar-powered trash can not only compacts the garbage, it emails the garbage collectors when it’s full! The initial cost is high, but it will save substantial amounts of money in the long run.

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Thursday, 2 May 2013

There are lots of opportunities to get out on the water this summer with training and tours for canoe or kayak. Let us know if we missed an organization or activity, and we’ll add it to the list.

CanoeSki Discovery CompanyCanoeSki Discovery Company specializes in wilderness canoeing and cross-country skiing. They offer a 12-hour Learn to Canoe course as well as Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Paddling workshops.

A weekend Whitewater Primer in August helps participants make the transition from lake to river paddling. CanoeSki also offers Wilderness Navigation and Orienteering courses and private canoe lessons for individuals and groups.

CanoeSki offers a wide variety of different canoe trips from a fly-in rock art archaeology camp, to a women-only trip on the Churchill River, and short overnight or day trips near Saskatoon.

Clearwater CanoeingClearwater Canoeing has made their canoes available for rent at Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve. Visit the Research Centre to make arrangements. The Centre is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm from June 1 to September 5.

Clearwater offers various tours, including an overnight tour to Fort Carlton, The Hobbit tour on the McLennan Lakes chain, and a Women’s Reconnect with Nature Retreat.

Maskwa Paddle Co.
Mark Lafontaine has just opened Maskwa Paddle Co. He’s offering three Learn to Paddle workshops in June as well as 16-hour Paddle Canada certified canoe courses at the Intermediate and Advanced Tandem level in July. Private individual and group lessons are also available. Ask Mark to show you his hand-carved paddles.

Meewasin Canoe Tours
Canoe tours in Meewasin Valley Authority’s 25-foot, voyageur clipper canoes are an opportunity for novice canoeists to learn about the river from the river. The tours run out of the Beaver Creek Conservation Area from June through August and last approximately 3 hours.

Tours must be booked in advance (call Gillian May at 306-665-6887) and work best for groups of 8 or 16 people (using one or two canoes). The cost is $200/canoe, but tours are free for non-profit groups.

Saskatoon Canoe Club
The Saskatoon Canoe Club is a group of paddling enthusiasts. They offer courses and canoe trip opportunities for members. The Club has two divisions for Recreation and Marathon. They’re holding an Open House at noon on May 5 at the Victoria Park Boathouse.

Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club
The Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club provides training in sprint canoe and kayak racing. They offer various summer classes and day camps for youth at the introductory, developmental, and high performance level, as well as a winter training program.

They also offer a two-week, evening Adult Learn-to-Kayak program, and a Masters program for people who wish to continue paddling throughout the summer.

Follow by Email

About

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

EcoFriendly Sask strives to inform, encourage, and support Saskatchewan environmental initiatives. As a small, personal undertaking, we provide an online publication as well as grants to support local environmental projects. The Calendar page lists upcoming events, and we maintain the conversation on Twitter, or like our Facebook.

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $500 to support local projects that will benefit the environment.